OTP Bank (the National Savings and Commercial Bank of Hungary) signed an agreement on the purchase of shares in Investsberbank Monday.
Under the agreement, OTP Bank, which controls 24% of the Hungarian banking market, will pay 90% of the price of the stake after the deal is finalized, "probably, in the fall of 2006."
The remaining 10% will be deposited for 12 months to meet any guarantee claims if they arise, the statement said.
Founded in 1949, OTP was reorganized as a state-owned joint stock company in 1990. In 1995, majority ownership passed to the private sector and the bank's shares are now quoted on the Budapest stock exchange.
OTP Bank, with its shareholder equity of 1.94 billion euros (about $2.5 billion), has branches in Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.
Investsberbank's shareholder equity is 101.5 million euros (about $128.9 million) and its pre-tax profit stood at 9.1 million euros (about $15.4 million) in the 2005 fiscal year.
